Integrating Spirituality into Public Mental Health: Toward Resilient and Holistic Systems of Care

Spiritual well-being, encompassing meaning, purpose, connectedness, belonging, inner peace, and existential orientation, is increasingly recognized as an important determinant of mental health. Research across psychology, psychiatry, phenomenology, and public health demonstrates that spirituality can support resilience, coping, recovery, and social cohesion. Beyond serving as a protective factor, spirituality influences how individuals understand themselves, relate to others, and make sense of suffering and adversity. Nevertheless, public mental health frameworks continue to focus predominantly on biological and psychosocial determinants, while spiritual and existential dimensions remain largely overlooked. Phenomenological studies further suggest that mental health challenges often involve disruptions in selfhood, embodiment, agency, temporality, and connectedness. In this context, spiritual beliefs and practices may help restore coherence and meaning. Despite growing evidence, the integration of spirituality into public mental health policy and practice remains limited, fragmented, and insufficiently explored.


This Research Topic seeks to examine how spirituality can be ethically, inclusively, and effectively integrated into public mental health systems, services, and governance structures. It aims to bridge conceptual, empirical, and practical perspectives on spirituality and mental health while fostering dialogue across disciplines.

Particular attention will be paid to lived experiences of mental distress and recovery, including how individuals draw upon personal religious beliefs, spiritual practices, faith communities, and experiences of transcendence during periods of crisis. Depression, anxiety, psychosis, trauma, and suicidal distress are frequently accompanied by disruptions in meaning, identity, hope, and belonging. Understanding how people employ spiritual resources to navigate such experiences may provide valuable insights for person-centered and recovery-oriented care.

The Research Topic also seeks to explore how public mental health systems can acknowledge spiritual and existential needs while respecting cultural, religious, and secular diversity. Contributions are encouraged from researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and community stakeholders interested in advancing holistic, meaning-centered, and resilient approaches to mental health promotion, prevention, treatment, and recovery.

Scope and Information for Authors

We welcome original research, reviews, theoretical papers, policy analyses, and case studies addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

Comparative analyses of national and international mental health policies incorporating spirituality and existential well-being.

Phenomenological studies of spirituality, meaning-making, selfhood, embodiment, agency, and lived experience in mental health and recovery.

Patients' experiences of using religious beliefs, spiritual practices, and faith communities during mental health crises and recovery processes.

Spiritual coping, spiritual struggles, religious meaning-making, and existential transformation in the context of mental illness.

Models of collaboration between public mental health services, community organizations, and faith-based institutions.

Governance, ethics, leadership, and workforce training for inclusive and culturally sensitive spiritual care.

The role of meaning, belonging, purpose, transcendence, and existential resilience in mental well-being.

Recovery-oriented approaches that incorporate spiritual and existential dimensions of care.

Cultural, philosophical, and phenomenological perspectives on integrating spirituality into mental health systems.

Innovative methods for assessing and addressing spiritual needs in public mental health services, as well as evaluations of evidence-informed frameworks linking spirituality to recovery and population mental health.